Competition in two‐sided markets

Competition in two‐sided markets
Armstrong, Mark
2006-09-01 00:00:00
Many markets involve two groups of agents who interact via “platforms,“ where one group's benefit from joining a platform depends on the size of the other group that joins the platform. I present three models of such markets: a monopoly platform; a model of competing platforms where agents join a single platform; and a model of “competitive bottlenecks” where one group joins all platforms. The determinants of equilibrium prices are (i) the magnitude of the cross‐group externalities, (ii) whether fees are levied on a lump‐sum or per‐transaction basis, and (iii) whether agents join one platform or several platforms.
http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.pngThe Rand Journal of EconomicsWileyhttp://www.deepdyve.com/lp/wiley/competition-in-two-sided-markets-vwcGojGp8j

Abstract

Many markets involve two groups of agents who interact via “platforms,“ where one group's benefit from joining a platform depends on the size of the other group that joins the platform. I present three models of such markets: a monopoly platform; a model of competing platforms where agents join a single platform; and a model of “competitive bottlenecks” where one group joins all platforms. The determinants of equilibrium prices are (i) the magnitude of the cross‐group externalities, (ii) whether fees are levied on a lump‐sum or per‐transaction basis, and (iii) whether agents join one platform or several platforms.